Entries in Advice
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PRNewsFoto/Microsoft Corp.(NEW YORK) -- Christmas is just days away. If you’re still shopping and you’ve got tech lovers on your list, you may be feeling overwhelmed about some of your purchases. If you are thinking about buying a tablet like the iPad, some of those fancy headphones like Beats by Dr. Dre, or a gaming system like the Xbox, ABC News technology contributor Becky Worley offers this advice to avoid buyer’s remorse:

You may want to wait before you buy, especially when you consider that a new version of the hot “it” products could be released just after the holidays.Tablets: Apple is expected to sell 13 million iPad 2s this season. Are they fun? Yes. Are they a great gift? Yes. Are they about to be replaced with the iPad 3? Yes.

The iPad 3 is expected to be thinner and lighter, and have an eye-popping, high-resolution screen. Better camera, and maybe, just maybe, come in a bunch of different colors. It’s expected to be released sometime in spring 2012.

So what about the year’s other hot tablet, the Kindle Fire? It enjoyed a blazing debut, but user complaints have poured cold water on the tablet’s sales. They say the screen’s too small and that the controls and touch screen aren’t as responsive as they need to be. Even worse, there are rumors that there will be two new models coming out this spring.

Gaming Systems: No groundbreaking new products were introduced this year, so the hottest item on the market is still the Kinect for Xbox 360. There are no major changes expected in this console, so you should feel totally confident buying an Xbox or the Kinect add-on.

But you should know that the Nintendo Wii is getting a big upgrade in 2012. It will have a tablet-based touch screen controller and a whole new style of game play.

Headphones: What’s all this noise about headphones for $200 or $300?

Teens have become connoisseurs of headphones the way previous generations fawned over muscle cars and The Beatles. So now Beats by Dr. Dre cost $300 and your kid wants them. What do you do? Don’t sweat it. There are cheaper alternatives out there.

Skullcandy has lots of fashionable choices for under $30, including Rasta-flavored uprock models. Sennheiser and Koss are other options. Both have models for under $25.

Don’t be confused, though. If your teen wants a specific set of headphones and he or she’s already articulated exactly which pair, you’ve either got to pony up the money or manage expectations. Headphones are the new designer jeans.